Copper set for monthly gain, firms on soft dollar, macro risk-on.

Copper prices firmed on Friday and were set to notch a monthly gain, as the market digested a cheaper dollar and a broader improvement in risk appetite in equity markets. Benchmark three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange was up 0.27% at $13,840.5 a metric ton by 0740 GMT, and was on track for a 3.5% gain for the month. Meanwhile, the most-traded copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange rose 0.66% to 105,460 yuan ($15,632.04), notching a 3% increase since the start of the month. The dollar tumbled overnight, making copper and other greenback-denominated commodities cheaper for buyers using other currencies, offering support. The red metal, nicknamed Dr Copper for its use as an aggregate for global economic health, was also supported by a broader uptick in risk appetite after the U.S. Federal Reserve held interest rates. The improvement in risk appetite was "reflected in the sharp rebound in equities yesterday after a tough month," Craig Lang, principal analyst at CRU, said. Copper was supported earlier in July by good demand in China, falling visible stocks and supply concerns, though that tailed off later. An uptrend in the Yangshan copper premium , which tracks physical demand in main consumer China, paused and new withdrawal requests from LME-registered warehouses faded this week. This softening, along with Chinese leaders' seeming lack of appetite for economic stimulus and disappointing PMI data this week, "makes copper a toy in the hands of dollar and risk-sentiment in equity markets," Sandeep Daga, head of research at Metal Intelligence Centre, said. Total copper stocks in SHFE-monitored warehouses were also little changed this week, declining by only 276 tons since last Friday, to 69,336 tons. Among LME metals, aluminium lost 0.58%, zinc lost 0.54%, lead lost 0.45%, nickel was little changed, down only 0.03% and tin was little changed, up only 0.04%. Among SHFE metals, aluminium added 0.19%, zinc gained 0.69%, lead lost 1.18%, nickel added 0.32% and tin rose 1.86%.